cloud computing
Hanging over me T
he Cloud. Of course you’ve heard of it. It’s a big trend. You’ve got applications, content, probably a lot of random files and photos backed up in there. Should your LMS be in there too? What does that mean in practice for you?
Why consider a cloud LMS? You don’t have to search far before finding lists about the benefits of a cloud LMS: n fast deployment n lower start-up costs n easy access for users n no technical overhead n scalable. Many of these benefits are undoubtedly true but first we need a reality check before we soar into the cloud.
Back to earth: What do you want in an LMS? Before we go into the cloud, let’s step back to think about what’s important to you when you’re choosing a learning platform. When it comes down to it, for any product choice, most of us go for a price
for feature-set shoot-out. We want the biggest bang for the smallest buck. And obviously the system has to be fit for purpose for your business requirements, both now and for your likely future. I think most of us would prefer having a feature-rich system in case those tools are needed at a later stage. So that means the system with the most features at the best price is the winner – right?
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Cloud, Open Source, SaaS – what does it mean for you and your learning management system (LMS)? Richard Wyles takes a trip into the cloud and shares some of the benefits – and things to watch out for – before you put your LMS up there
Think ahead: Are you locking yourself in? But is that the whole story? At the enterprise level many features are now becoming commoditized so the customer can more easily shop around for value. From benchmarking studies we’ve conducted, we know that Open Source solutions can lower customer’s cost of ownership dramatically – as much as 80% in some cases. But price isn’t the whole answer. What looks like a great deal now may not look so good if your needs change and the system is not able to accommodate it. Features that look great in 2015 can become major limitations in 2017. The factors that are less talked about – but in our view just as important – are your vendor’s speed and capacity to innovate – particularly whether they’re able to bend and adapt the platform as your needs change and you grow into the platform. Flexibility is critical. Often it’s the little things that count, a tweak here, a variation in terminology there. Should your organisation be forced to change its way of working to suit the software you buy, or is it best the other way around? Managing accelerating and unpredictable change is critical to future business success so really need solutions that can be readily adapted as and when required, without restriction. Who do you want to be in control here? The vendor or you? It’s important to think about the potential costs of switching to another service
provider, not just the initial costs of entering into a contract. The one thing you can be sure of is that things change. A cloud based, simple to set up LMS may be ideal now but what if you outgrow the system or require something different in a few years? Can you migrate or upgrade to another option easily? None of us wants to look foolish by investing time and money in a system we have to effectively throw away as soon as things change.
e.learning age september 2015
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